Hydration is Key

When treating children with voice disorders, one of the key components of treatment is encouraging hydration. Although clinicians can encourage patients and parents to increase daily water intake, children are often not as enticed to drink water as they are to drink many sugar-based beverages. According to Franca and Simpson (2009), both jitter and shimmer were directly affected by a person’s hydration status. People who drank more water were noted to have lower shimmer and jitter numbers than those who were not properly hydrated. Higher Jitter and shimmer numbers are often reflected during a voice evaluation and correlate with atypical vocal fold vibration. According to ASHA, drinking water is not only important for vocal hygiene but can also help improve gastrointestinal health and overall wellness.

It is also important to introduce water so children do not become reliant on milk products. Milk intake drops significantly after the first year of life as children begin to add new foods to their dietary repertoire. If children continue to rely on milk they may not be willing to try other foods as they are getting daily nutrients through their milk intake. Encouraging children to drink water can ultimately encourage them to broaden their dietary repertoire.

ASHA offers some fun ideas to help encourage children to choose water as a beverage:

1. Honey Bears are a fun (reusable) way for kids to remember  to drink water throughout the day.

2. Infused Water: Have kids experiment by adding their favorite fruits to water. This is a fun way to add flavor to water without the added calories/sugar that soda, juice, and energy drinks offer.

3. Parent involvement: It is important for parents/clinicians to practice healthy habits in front of children. Parents can keep a chart in the house of everyone’s water consumption for some friendly competition. Clinicians should also drink water throughout sessions with voice patients to set an example.

Reference:

http://blog.asha.org/tag/voice-disorders/

https://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/asha/publications/cicsd/2009FEffectsofHydrationonVoiceAcoustics.pdf

Johanna Sullivan MA CF-SLP